


meet me halfway

by silverjeno



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Ballet, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Misunderstandings, Noren, ballet boy renjun, street dancer jeno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 18:36:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17371202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverjeno/pseuds/silverjeno
Summary: ballet boy renjun and lee jeno didn't really get along. that is, until, they end up having to share a studio one day.





	meet me halfway

**Author's Note:**

> again, this is something I just casually tweeted about and then decided to write.  
> \- word vomit  
> \- idea from :  
> • gayo intro dance practise where jeno does his tumble and renjun is being ballet boy at the back  
> • the pd101 dance battle where eunki and jungjung end up dancing together instead

Lee Jeno. Renjun had seen him around before. With his oversized hoodies and lanky limbs, Jeno was one of the dancers in the group that came to the studio after Renjun's lessons were over.

The studio in question was one of their college's dance studios, separate from the large hall where their classes where held. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Renjun's ballet group held extra practises or lesson revisions there. Their slot was for three hours and students were free to come and go according to their schedules and needs. Renjun was one of the few who stayed for all three hours on all three days. But what could he say? He loved ballet. 

Directly after their slot was over, Renjun would pack up his things and head to his friend Chenle's mother's café to sit and chat and occasionally finish his papers. 

Sometimes, he'd meet up with Jaemin who was studying modern dance alongside figure skating, and would practise in the other studio. Despite being passionate enough about ballet to attend all the extra hours, Renjun was quick to leave the studio when their slot ended. And Lee Jeno was the reason why. Okay, no, that was an exaggeration, it wasn't really because of Jeno.

After the ballet group had their slots on the respective weekdays, the students from the Street Dance Club took over their studio to practise. Now, Renjun was an artist and has respect for every form of art, but he just couldn't bring himself to feel particularly awed when it came to the street dancers. They were actually a hip hop dance club, apparently, but they thought Street Dance Club sounded better. 

Frankly, they were too loud and unruly for his liking. They played heavy music at volumes too high for his taste and cheered and whooped too much, and no matter how much respect Renjun had for other dance styles, he just couldn't get his heart to be at ease with the street dancers. 

He bumped into Lee Jeno on the way out that day and couldn't help but stare at his dirt-speckled shoe soles compared to his own ballet shoes. He sighed as the previous piano piece was replaced by a louder, bass-driven song and voices raised so as to be audible above the already suffocating music. And then Huang Renjun left.

 

But Jeno didn't miss the expression on Renjun's face as he left. The boy might have trained himself to maintain a blank face, but his eyes gave him away — he was not impressed. Jeno scoffed as the ballet student disappeared from his view. He didnt know what it was with that guy thinking that he was above the street dancers just because he learned a renowned dance style and danced to pretty music in uniformed costumes and fancy shoes. He didn't know why the other boy looked at him that way. He just hoped one day he'd stop looking at him like that.

But as the music started to play from the speakers behind him, Jeno willed his mind to move past the shorter boy, and directed his energy and feelings into movements, guiding his body to ride the tune. After all, for Jeno, that was what street dance meant – turning his thoughts and emotions into energy and let his limbs burn off the energy burning through him. Expression. Isn't that what dance is?

The two juniors didn't really meet outside the boundaries of the dance hall and studios. But their friend groups eventually ended up tangling together, leaving Jeno and Renjun frighteningly close to slipping into a knot that neither of them could get out of. Jeno's music major friend Mark's music major boyfriend Donghyuck had become friends with fellow music major Chenle over a project. And when Mark invited Jisung from the Street Dance Club to join them one day as company for Chenle, Jeno realized he'd probably end up at one of these hangouts sitting opposite to Renjun as he glanced disdainfully at him.

But much to their surprise, it wasn't their friend groups that brought the two contrasting boys together.

-

Jeno was alone in the smaller studio on a Saturday, when studios were empty for students to practise by themselves if they wanted. He was pacing through the studio, trying to make a choreography when the door opened.

When Huang Renjun opened the door, he immediately recognized the oversized hoodie, and stiffened a bit as the figure turned around to face him. 

"There's only one other room open, and it already has three people. If you're uncomfortable, I could come back once you're done?"

Jeno shook his head. "Why would I be uncomfortable? I'll take the left side" he said, grabbing his bottle of water and speaker, and moving it from the centre of the room to the side. Renjun noticed him turn the volume down as he set it on the floor. 

Renjun timidly settled into his half of the room, trying to adjust to the dynamic of sharing a studio with a person who was not only dancing on a different song but to a different style altogether. 

Jeno took the lead in breaking the ice and got back to his choreographing, pausing, playing and repeating bits of the track to perfect whatever it was he was creating. Renjun was getting used to the music being there, pushing it to the back of his mind and focusing on his own track instead. He turned on his own speaker one his shoes were on. He was surprised when he heard the other's voice comment in recognition, "Swan Lake, right?"

Renjun raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know ballet music?"

Jeno laughed. "Not really, but when Swan Lake came to the city and Hyuck watched it, he wouldn't shut up about it, and so I took him to watch it a second time for his birthday. It was beautiful."

"Oh," Renjun mumbled, intrigued to actually hear about Jeno instead of just seeing him as a face in the Street Dance Club. "That's nice of you." 

Jeno smiled and turned back to the mirror. The conversation was over.

Although the two had slowly settled into a balance, there was still a smidgen of tension in the air as their individual preconceived notions about the other were being tested for the first time. 

Renjun heard Jeno huff in what was obviously frustration and broke his arabesque to look over at the street dancer as he sat down on the floor, sweat glistening in his temples. "You good?" Renjun asked, facing the now seated dancer. 

Jeno sighed. "I gotta come up with a choreo for the gig we got since I got the solo spot this time, and my mind's just banking on me."

"Well, when is it?" Renjun asked, sitting down opposite to Jeno, who felt much more at ease seeing Renjun's eyes filled with understanding instead of the disappointment he had always thought he'd see if the two were ever to meet eyes. 

"It's in a week."

"Well, you still have time, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something good."

"Well yeah, I _have_ to. I was just hoping to get most of it down today." He sounded defeated.

"Well," Renjun spoke before thinking, "I could help you if you want a push?"

Silence. 

Jeno chuckled. " _you're_ offering to help _me_?"

Renjun faltered. "Look, I don't know what you might have against ballet, but—"

"What I might have against ballet?" Jeno sounded incredulous. "Did you not just hear me tell you that I took my friend to a ballet? And even remembered the music? I have nothing against ballet. I only reacted like that cuz I didn't think _you'd_ want to help me considering you're the one who has some problem with my dance style; don't think I don't catch your expressions when you leave the studio on weekdays."

Renjun bit his tongue. Denying his behavior would be lying, but he didn't want to look snobbish over ballet.

"What happened? Cat got your tongue, ballet boy?" Jeno smiled half-heartedly. He turned around, away from Renjun, to grab his water bottle, but frowned when he realized it was empty. 

"I'll go fill it for you," Renjun offered, surprising himself once again. Jeno, too, raised his eyebrows in surprise, but handed his bottle to Renjun nonetheless, his exhaustion getting the better of him. Renjun spent a bit longer than necessary when filling Jeno's bottle, trying to word a good apology for the image and behavior he had presented, and a proposition to hang out and get to actually know each other. 

When he neared the studio again, Renjun heard slow music drifting from the studio instead of the stiff silence he had been dreading to return to. He hesitantly stopped in front of the door, peering into the room.

Jeno had stood up from his place on the floor and was starting intently at his own form that stared back at him from the mirror. He was dancing. 

Renjun recognized the song and couldn't help the goofy grin that made its way onto this face. It wasn't a new song and he distinctly remembered middle school when suddenly _everyone_ was listening to that song and replying 'I'm giving up on you're whenever anyone said 'say something'. But just because it was popular didn't mean it was a good song and Renjun looked past the initial comedy of hearing the song to once again feel its beauty sending shivers up his spine.

Renjun knew he was very obviously staring at Jeno, but the other didn't seem to realize it. Renjun noticed Jeno slowly closing his eyes when the two voices joined together in harmony for the verse, his movements amazingly fluid, surprising Renjun. 

He was obviously freestyling off the top of his mind, but the emotion leaking from his every step lapped at Renjun's heartstrings. He could _feel_ the dance. The raw emotion was seeping into Renjun too and he was trying so hard to resist the urge to—

"Oh to hell with it," he thought, entering the room, setting the plastic bottle he was holding on to the ground, and in the same smooth movement, he took a stance next to Jeno as the latter completed the lazy turn he had been making, to face the former.

Jeno's eyes shot open when he realized he wasn't alone in the room anymore, and Renjun saw insecurity in them. He felt Jeno pulling back and in desperation to stop the other from withdrawing into himself, Renjun started dancing as the music swelled into the chorus.

Jeno's hesitation melted ever so softly as he watched the shorter boy gracefully race curves on the wooden floor with his pointed toes. He watched as the other dipped into ballet moves whose beauty left Jeno in awe only for a moment before he realized that Renjun had wanted to dance _with him_. And so, shrugging his hesitation off, Jeno joined in.

It was awkward at first, so awkward. Neither knew the other's style or the habits if their body. Their poses clashed at weird angles and they nudged and jostled for a while to get to know each other's movements and find a halfway point. 

But the energy buzzing between the two was undeniable.

The music slowed as the song entered the verse again, and the contrast between the two boys slowly morphed into complementation. Now, their movements matched, and instead of clashing awkwardly, they completed each other — one tall, one shorter; one a street dancer, one a ballet student — both coming to meet each other in the middle.

The energy between them seemed to almost spark as it cycled between the two, and when the song drew to a close, both the boys were curiously out of breath as they neared each other in the centre of the room — meeting each other halfway — a tiny bit of hesitation as they faced each other. 

Renjun put his hands gently on the two sides of Jeno's neck, right over his collarbones as the last notes played, and Jeno's hand was as soft as a feather on his hips. 

Both of them were a bit more nervous now that they sing had ended and they were no longer acting on a rush of emotion and art. They stood there for a few heartbeats, identical smiles growing on their faces, before Jeno suddenly blurted, "Water."

Renjun was pulled out of his high as he recalled what had been doing before he had returned to the dance studio. 

They broke contact as Jeno walked away to pick up his water bottle from where Renjun had left it. Renjun, at the same time, mumbled, "I'm sorry." 

Jeno furrowed his eyebrows and brought the bottle away from his lips. "You don't have to apologize for joining me. I was just freestyling to take a break and get my mind to work again. Plus I don't know about you, but I actually thought that was pretty fun, so you don't have to say sorry to me."

Renjun stood dumbstruck as Jeno spoke, but once he was done, Renjun started, "I wasn't apologizing for joining you, I wouldn't do that. I enjoyed it too actually. I was kinda worried how you'd take it, cuz I just just burst in on your session, but I'm glad you had fun cuz I did too."

Jeno nodded and Renjun continued, "I wanted to apologize for before. I'm sorry if I came off as snobbish or all high-and-mighty. It wasn't right of me to react like that just because I didn't understand your dance style. I'll admit that I don't like heavy music and loudness that much, but I didn't mean to come of as haughty. So I'm sorry for my attitude."

Renjun snuck a glance at Jeno and decided to continue being bold for once. "Let me make it up to you?"

Jeno looked confused, so Renjun explained. "Let's hang out. I'll get to know you, you'll get to know me. I'll change your image of me. If, that is, you give me a chance."

Jeno opened his mouth to reply, but the opening of the studio door cut him off. It was the security guard. "Guys, it's time to lock up. Pack up and make your way outside within five minutes, okay?"

They nodded, quickly grabbing their things and heading out. They were walking on the sidewalk with no specific direction in mind and Renjun was almost bursting with nervousness as he waited for Jeno to answer his question when Jeno said, "Okay I'll give you a shot. I'll 'let you make it up to me'."

Renjun's face lit up in a smile. They walked a comfortable silence for a few paces more, when Renjun recognized the direction they were heading in. He asked, "Jeno, are you busy right now?"

Jeno furrowed his eyebrows. "Not really, no. Why?"  
"There's a really nice café this way. I say we start 'Mission : Renjun Redeem Yourself' right now."  
Jeno laughed at Renjun's choice of words and Renjun's heart felt strangely happy when Jeno agreed and the two walked together, side by side. 

-

As the days passed, Mission : Renjun Redeem yourself undeniably was a success, and the two dancers became much closer. They were hanging out at the café, studying for tests together, and Renjun had even gone to see Jeno dance at his 'gig'.

Jeno's choreography turned out to be amazing — with a bit if Renjun's help too — and yet, in the final day, Jeno was jittery and fidgety and nervous as heck. When Renjun pulled the taller boy into a hug for good luck, he could actually feel Jeno's heartbeat going erratic. It seemed to reverberate in Renjun's own chest long after the hug was over and Jeno had already walked on stage, when Renjun realized that that was actually his own heartbeat. He figured he must've been nervous for Jeno, too. 

Jeno, as Renjun soon discovered, wore his heart of his sleeve. As the two grew closer and hung out more, Renjun often heard Jeno say 'You're cute' when they'd meet outside the café, or 'You can't just smile at me like that! Give me a warning first!' And Renjun's own heart, hiding shyly in his chest would silently skip a beat. 

Jeno didn't hid his feelings from Renjun. He didn't speak them either, but he didn't hesitate to tell Renjun how beautiful he looked, or quietly slip Renjun's smaller hand into his, smiling as Renjun blushed.

Renjun wasn't nearly as outgoing as Jeno, and he wasn't confident enough to make any move himself, but he never once denied Jeno when he took the chsnce to show his affection. No words passed between the two on the matter, but both if them knew the other was comfortable and they both found comfort in them being together.

But they had not really danced together since that one day, and whatever little dancing they had done was nothing compared to it.

Then one day, Renjun's ballet teacher asked him to stay back after class.

"Renjun, you know that our dance studios have cameras, right?"

Renjun nodded, not sure what the conversation was leading up to. 

"Well we go through the footage regularly to delete the old footage that won't be necessary to keep anymore. And yesterday, some of the footage from a while back caught my eye."

Renjun's eyes widened in realization.

"That was you and Lee Jeno, right? Impromptu, I believe?"

Renjun nodded again, wondering what his teacher had to say. 

"For an impromptu dance, it was quite impressive. Of course, I watched it without any audio, but the emotion was there in the expression. I want you and Jeno to perform this routine I'm the upcoming showcase."

Renjun gasped. Performing and independent routine in the showcase was a really rare opportunity, an opportunity he'd never gotten before. 

"It'll be the perfect blend between two styles," his teacher continued as his excitement bubbled. "Of course, you'll have to fix the awkward parts at the beginning, but..."

But Renjun wasn't listening anymore. He was ecstatic to have gotten an independent performance in the shoecase. That too, with something he wasn't even trying for. That too, with something that meant so much to him.

And so, he and Jeno found themselves back in the dance studio together, going through the routine neither of them had out to memory during its creation. They memorized the choreography bit by bit and tweaked the awkward bits, laughing together as they saw the security footage of them being painful tense with each other. 

Days passed quickly and when the time came for the two to perform, they were full to the brim with nervousness, but also full of happiness.

They performed without a flaw, the routine that was previously a secret hidden between two dancers, now a performance for everyone to see. 

As they approached each other while the ending chords played, they could only _just_ keep their happiness locked behind the sombre expression they needed for the performance. Renjun heard Chenle cheering from somewhere in the crowd, but he only had eyes for Jeno.

He realized with a jolt that he was suddenly feeling the exact same feeling from the moment before Jeno's gig.  
Had things between the two been this way right since then? 

But some things were different. 

The hesitation, the awkwardness, it had all melted away. This time, Jeno's hands were not feather light on Renjun's hips, they were sure and steady as he pulled the shorter boy closer. Renjun's hands were secure on the back of Jeno's neck instead of resting carefully on his shoulders. 

They didn't need words — Jeno's eyes asked permission silently, and Renjun's hands at the back of Jeno's neck gave his answer for him. 

Chenle shrieked even louder when the two kissed — meeting each other halfway — and as the two dancers entered their respective greenrooms once the performance was over, Jeno asked "Café after this?" Renjun, of course, said yes. 

-

The two sat opposite each other in their usual seats in the café — Chenle, thankfully, wasn't there — and lazily sipped their coffee, all their energy drained from the showcase.

"You were amazing today, Jeno. You should take an actual dance course next semester. I'll even help you talk to the professors if you want."

"That seems like a good idea," Jeno hummed. " And you were amazing too, ballerina boy."

Renjun flushed and murmured, "Ballerino."

Jeno had a playful expression on his face. "Did you just mix 'ballerina' with my name?"

Renjun nearly choked on his coffee.

"No! A male ballerina is also called a ballerino."

"Okay yeah that makes more sense."

Silence. 

"Hey, do you think it'd be a good idea if I take a course in ballet and then chsnge my twitter username to ballerino? cuz like ballet dude and jeno, and—"

Renjun couldn't helo but laugh.

And Jeno couldn't help but smile back.


End file.
